World Press Photo 2019, see the powerful pictures of the nominees

The World Press Photo 2019 finalists have been announced, the most prestigious photojournalism competition in the world. One of the nominees is Marco Gualazzini’s story on the humanitarian crisis taking place in the basin of the river Chad.

The role of photojournalism has become crucial due to its ability to communicate universally in a world scarred by interconnected events and crises. This is why the World Press Photo, the most prestigious photojournalism contest in the world, has been awarding and paying homage to the best stories captured through photography since 1985. The finalists of the 62nd edition were announced on the 20th of February: 43 photographers from 25 countries.

The World Press Photo 2019 finalists

This year the Dutch organisation added a new element to the competition. Alongside the traditional World Press Photo of the Year, which honours a single picture, there’s the World Press Photo Story of the Year, an award for a series of photos that were able to capture a significant event.

Six photographers have been nominated for the World Press Photo of the Year: Mohammed Badra, with a photo taken moments after a suspected gas attack in eastern Ghouta, in Syria; Marco Gualazzini, with a photo of a boy in Chad, a region that is facing a humanitarian crisis caused by a political and environmental crisis; Catalina Martin-Chico, who tackled the issue of pregnancies after the FARC movement in Colombia; Chris McGrath, with a picture that portrays the protests and the media attention after the disappearance of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi; John Moore, with the iconic photo of the migrant crisis in the United States, portraying a crying child with her mother who are being stopped at the border by authorities; Brent Stirton, with a photo of a woman ranger during a training session of the all-female anti-poaching units in Zimbabwe.

Brent Stirton, Getty Images/World Press Photo 2019
Nominees, World press photo of the year. Akashinga – the brave ones © Brent Stirton, Getty Images/World Press Photo 2019

Three stories have been nominated for the World Press Photo Story of the Year: Marco Gualazzini, for his work on the humanitarian crisis in Chad; Pieter Ten Hoopen, who told the story of the caravan full of migrants headed towards the American border; Lorenzo Tugnoli, with his work on the Yemen crisis.

The other categories are: Contemporary issues, Environment, General news, Long-term projects, Nature, People, Sports and Spot news. Each category has three finalists for single pictures and stories.

Italian Marco Gualazzini is one of the nominees with his work on Chad

Photographer Marco Gualazzini, from the Italian photo agency Contrasto, has been nominated for the World Press Photo of the Year and World Press Photo Story of the year, as well as for the environment category. His work, titled The Lake Chad Crisis, narrates the humanitarian crisis that is being faced by the African country due to a complex combination of political and environmental factors.

Listen to “Le parole di Marco Gualazzini, finalista del World press photo 2019 con un reportage sul lago Chad” on Spreaker.

In fact, 40 million people depend on Lake Chad, one of the largest in Africa. This lake’s basin has shrunk by 90 per cent in the last sixty years due to drought combined with human activities such as irrigation, deforestation and an inappropriate resource management. A situation that has triggered conflicts between farmers, increased food insecurity and favoured the presence of the jihadist group Boko Haram in the area.

Marco Gualazzini/World press photo 2019
Environment, stories. The Lake Chad Crisis © Marco Gualazzini/World press photo 2019

There are 14 women amongst the finalists this year: 32 per cent of the participants, a noticeable increase according to the organisation, considering that last year only 12 per cent of the finalists were women. Selected from 4,738 photographers from 129 countries, for a total of 78,801 photos, the winners of the World Press Photo 2019 will be announced on the 11th of April in Amsterdam.

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